Knitted hosiery



Oct. 5, 1937. J. KUGELMANI 2,095,059,

KNITTED HOSIERY Filed March 24, 1934 *momwm ,Ankeny u au JACK KUGELMAN Patented Oct. 5, 1.9371- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTED HOSIERY Jack Engelman, Philadelphia, Pa.

' z claims. (c1. 66-178) This invention relates generally to full-fashioned yknitted hosiery and more particularly to improvements in the nature of the knitted fabric of which the sheer, non-reinforced portion of the stocking is comprised, as well as in the method of producing the said fabric. -v

Heretofore and prior to this invention it has been the general practice'in the art to knit the sheer, non-reinforced portions of the stocking, such as the 'leg and upper portion ofthe foot thereof, of a single yarn, the knitting of the fabric being effected in such manner that the successive interlooped knitted courses'thereof are each composed of the same yarn, which latter may be formed, for example, of silk having a certain number of threads twisted together a certain number of turns per inch. It is also a known practice in the art to knit the said sheer, nonlplurality of carriers corresponding in number to the number of separate yarns employed, the carriers being operated selectively and in such predetermined order that no two or more successive courses of the fabric are composed of the. same yarn. In this latter method, the several yarns are delivered to the knitting head ofthe machine from separately mounted cones or sources f supply, it being a'characteristic of the method that the several yarns so employed are as identical with respect to each other as it is possible to obtain, insofar as' the number of threads, turns per inch, denier, color and other such characteristics of each yarn are concerned.

Irrespective of whether a single length of yarn 1s emp1oyed to knit 9.11 ofthe interloopea courses istie or the fahne so minted that the wales thereof are quite pronounced and clearly discernible to f the eye, the wales, of course,- being the longitudinally extending lines L loops formed by the needles of the knitting machine. Itis the presence of these wales which impart to the knitted hosiery fabric the conventional appearance so well known to the art and to the wearers of the hosiery. Moreover, in the fabrics produced in th conventional manners abovedescribed, that is, by

the use of a yarn or yarns of substantially identical character in all of the interlooped courses of the knitted fabric, particularly inthose instances u where thel yarn is formed .of only' two-or three threads to produce a very sheerlfabric, the predominance of the lengthwise wales in the fabric renders it diiiicult to avoid the appearance in the fabric of circumferentially extending course-wise lines or bands of undesirable shadows or stripes, this being primarily due to the fact that in such fabrics the course-wise aspect thereof is generally of such uniformly smooth and even appearance and texture that any variations in the yarn from its specified nphysicals becomes immediately apparent in the knitted fabric, as, for example, in the formof a line when the variation from Ynormalis limited to the length of a single course,- or in the form of a shaded band or zone when the variation extends through the yarn or yarns comprising a plurality of successive courses.

. From the foregoing, it will be understood that it is among the objects ofthe presentV invention to produce a knitted fabric for full-fashioned hosiery and the-like which is characterized by the fact that the lengthwise wales or needle lines :thereofare rendered far less conspicuous than in the conventionally knitted fabric, the fabric of the present invention being further characterized by the fact that in' so subduing the effect of the 25 said wales upon the eye, the aspect of the fabric considered course-wise is emphasized andrendered more pronounced.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to produce a full-fashioned knitted hosiery fabric in such manner that certain selected courses thereof, uniformly distributed through the length of the fabric, are rendered more pro, nouneed and` conspicuous than are the courses interveningsaid selected courses, thus imparting to the fabric a uniformly distributed course-wise ribbed effect which eifectually eliminates in the fabric the appearance of objectionable shadows and the like` which may be occasioned by the use `lof yarns Ahaving variations in the physicals 4()` thereof and at the same time enhances very considerably and provides an entirely new effect in the appearance of the fabric.

Another object of the invention is to-provide a full-fashioned stocking knitted of a fabric of. While it resembles generally the method of.

parent more fully hereinafter.

' In theaccompanying drawingz- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a completed stocking constructed in accordance with land embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation u an enlarged scale of a small portion of the knitted leg fabric of the stocking; and

' Figure 3 is'a view similar to Figure 2 but showing a. modification of the knitted fabric.

In order to obtain the aforementloneddesired objects of the invention and to improve upon the conventionally knitted fabrics, this invention contemplates the use of a plurality of independent lengths of yarn in the production of\a single knitted fabric. In this vrespect it differs from the conventional method wherein a single continuous length yarn is employed to knit the sheer, non-reinforced portion of the stocking, such as the leg and the upper portion of the foot therevknitting'a fabric by the use of a plurality of independent yarns delivered selectively and in predetermined sequence by separately operable carriers to the knitting head of the machine, it differs from this latter known method in this important respect, namely, that the ,independent yarns which are separately delivered to two or more selectively actuated yarn carriers, instead of being substantially identical in their physical characteristics, are radically different with' respect to at least two of the yarns so employed.

In other words, in practicing the present invenl tion two or more independent yarns are delivered respectively through'individual carriers to the knitting head of the machine at which point the carriers operate in the well-known conventional manner to lay rst one and then another llength of'each yarnsalong the bank' of needles of the knitting head and soon inpredeterminedly selected order to lrnit the several interlooped courses of the fabric whereby when .the fabric is completed -there will be uniformly distributed throughout its extent courses formed of a yarn of entirely different physical characteristics fr om the yarn or yarns comprising the intervening courses. The yarns so employed in the knitting of the fabric of the present invention may differ f from one another not only in respect to then ture of the material of which they are formed but also in' respect to the number of threads,

the denier, the number of turns per inch, the

type of turn o r twist imparted to the yarn, 'the direction of twist and in other such respects. For example, the yarns may be respectively of' silk, cotton, wool or fiber, or any combination thereof, and if an all-silk fabric is to be proa duced, the several silk yarns employed may dif-Sf ferfromoneanotherinthattheymaybeinfl grain.boiloii',orgumsilk.

Prom various observations and tests made of hosiery knitted of fabrics un lof different combinations of yarns,'it has'been foundthat whenapluralityofyarnswhichdiiferintheir, physical characteristics as above described are4 selectively `employed to form. uniformly distributed courses in'the fabric a' predominant fea-v Jtux-e and characteristic ,of all of fabrics so produced is -thel appearance of pronounced course-wise ribs and the substantial ance of the wales or needle lines. This resultsl not only in the productionof an entirely new effect in hosiery fabrics but also eliminates the 2,095,069 i the method of producing the same, will be apappearance ofany and all objectionable shadowbands and lines. It will be understood, of course, ythat by the term rib as employed hereinbefore is not meant a pronounced ridge or the like extending circumferentially about the stocking,`that is, course-wise of the stocking fabric. As a matter of fact, the fabric produced in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention is of exceedingly uniform appearance` and texture, the sheerness of the fabric being entirely dependent upon the denier anidnum-V ber of threads of the several-yarns employed.

As aspecic example of the method of knitting \a fabric in accordance with the present invention, one may employ three different and independent yarns, designated a, band c in Fig. 2, two of which yarns,l that is, yarns a and b Vare each of three-thread, 13-15 denier, and 32 turns per inch while the third yarn c is of seven-thread, 1,3-15 denier, and 8 turns per inch. In this instance, ail of the yarns are ofv silk, and when a fabric is` knitted thereof in such manner that every third course is composed of the seven-` thread yam with the two intervening courses respectively composed of the three-thread yarns, a fabric is produced wherein the courses composed of the seven-thread yarn appear so predominantly in thefabric as ,to give it a'pronounced hori-f j zontally'striped appearance, the wales being so barely discernible as to make it dimcult to Judge from visual observation the gauge of the machine upon which the fabric was knitted.'

Another example of a fabric knitted in accordance with the present invention is' illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein three independent yarns d,'.e and f 35 are employed each of which differs from one another in respect to the member of threads and number of turns in each. Thus, the rst yarn d may be of two-thread, 13-15 denier, and 40 turns per inch, the second yarn e of three-thread, 40

13-15 denier and 321turns per inch, and the third warn f of four-thread, 13-15 denier, and 28 turns por inch. In producing a fabric of the three yarns last described, the several yarns may be employed in the ordernamed to knit succes- '45 sive coursesof the fabric, each. coursecomposed of a particular yarn being spaced from each other by two courses respectively composed of the other yarns. Due to the -fact that in this latter example the yarns are not so markedlydiiferent in respect to the number ofthreads in each as in the foregoing example, the course-wise lines are not so pronounced as in the foregoing example. Nevertheless', -the fabric so produced distinctly' shows horizontally extending lines lof more or less pronounced luster without perceptibly showing the wales, the results being thus similar in all material respects to those obtained by the use of the yarns as in the ilrst example.

These results are obtained irrespective ofthe l0Av number of different yarns employed so long as at ..-im

least two or more such yarns are employed selectively and in predetermined 'sequence throughout the several interlooped courses of the fabric and in which at least one of the yarns differs matehosiery fabric, or any combination thereof, and

which material may be in the form of a single strandA or a'plurality of strands, twisted or untwisted, to form one or more threads of any desired denier and number of turns or twists per inch.

It will also be understood. of course, that the invention is susceptible of various changes from time to time, all without departing from the real spirit or general principles and it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:-

l. In a full-fashioned stocking, a sheer. nonreinforced knitted leg fabric therefor characterized in that two or more yarns of similar color but differing in the number of threads composing each yarn and accordingly in the commercial diameters thereof respectively compose different courses of the fabric, the said diiferent yarns being selectively employed in predetermined course sequence throughout the entire extent of said leg fabric to provide a uniform distribution of the several yarns throughout/the fabric whereby to produce in the latter a more pronounced appearance of the course-wise lines and a less pronounced' threads composing each yarn and accordingly in the commercial diameters thereof are respectively employed in different courses of the fabric, the

-said yarns being arranged in a predetermined selected sequence which is repeated throughout the length of the leg fabric, the courses formed of at least one of said yarns being of such pronounced appearance relatively to the remaining courses as to import in the knitted fabric the appearance of course-wise lines as distinguished from the conventional Wale or needle lines, thekaspect of the latter vin the knitted fabric being thereby materially subdued.

.TACK KUGELMAN. 

